Voltron Drabbles
by Triangle Goddess
Summary: Voltron drabbles I write on tumblr
1. Chapter 1

**Drabble 1-Sound**

When Lance lost his hearing as a kid, it had devastated him. It took him a long time to physically come back and adjust to the new world around him, and even longer to do so emotionally.

He learned American and Spanish sign language and taught himself how to read lips. Everything had worked out fine, and Lance had learned how to be happy again.

When he got to the Garisson he had the kind of corrective surgery that nobody in his neighborhood could afford, so now he could hear again as long as he had his hearing aids in. He always kept extra batteries on him, as did Hunk and Pidge, who were the only two who knew due to the hearing aids special chameleon ability.

But now that he was with Voltron, nowhere near Earth and their hearing aid batteries, he was screwed. He had used up all of the batteries that had been brought, the last one going out during the tail end of a mission. He hadn't even noticed until Keith's angry face popped up on the monitor, yelling at him to fall back. Out of habit Lance read his lips, so he would never lose the practice, so it was no problem to follow the orders.

It wasn't until he walked out into the hangars that he realized he couldn't hear the hissing and groaning of metal on metal as he stepped out of blue. He had grown so accustomed to it that it was comforting, and now that it was gone it had him feeling uneasy.

He frowned, hoping he would have maybe some extra batteries lying around somewhere. If not maybe Pidge had somehow miraculously restrained herself from using them in her projects and had actually saved them.

Lance was so caught up in his thoughts about his batteries that he hadn't noticed them trying to talk to him. Not until something rough grabbed his shoulder and yanked him around.

Unsurprisingly it had been Keith, who was obviously livid. And as Keith got in his face, he felt the all to familiar sting of unheard words. The kind the kids on the playground would say, making fun of him for being deaf. Calling him a freak, a mistake. The closer Keith got, the farther back Lance tried to get. His chest was tight as he fought off old emotions, old traumas.

He hadn't realized how far he had been trying to back up until he lost his balance and fell on the ground. Keith was panting, face red as he ended his rant. Lance looked almost afraid, and he looked to Hunk to ground him. To give him a kind gaze that said _you're okay._

Except he wasn't. Not when Keith was getting in his face and he could have potentially fucked up the mission, just like he always did. He couldn't be a paladin if he couldn't hear. The math just didn't work that way. They were going to replace him, he just knew it. After all, nobody wanted a broken second class fighter pilot. Not when-

A movement caught his eye, and he focused his gaze back on Hunk. He knew Lance didn't want the others knowing, so he tried to discreetly sign to him by spelling out the words.

 _Batteries dead?_

Lance nodded, turning his gaze to the floor. Then he remembered Hunk was still talking to him, and looked back up.

 _Can I tell them?_

They were going to need to know eventually, Lance knew. It wasn't something he was going to be able to hide forever. But he hadn't wanted to let them know this way. He could have jeopardized the mission. So he sighed and nodded before hugging his knees to his chest. Pidge sat down next to him, leaning her head against his arm in a comforting way. It was a small gesture, but it helped so much as Hunk explained to them that what happened out on the field wasn't his fault. And that Keith had been overreacting. It was all a big misunderstanding.

Lance glanced over at Pidge, who gave him a smile and a thumbs up. After a few more minutes she tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Keith, who was looking more than just a little guilty. Hunk and Shiro had soft smiles as they stood behind the red paladin.

Lance just about started crying when Keith signed the word _sorry_ with a shaky, inexperienced hand.

"I could teach you, if you want," Lance said. Keith gave him a smile of his own and nodded.

"That would be great."

Lance smiled back at him, the moment gone all too soon with the tapping on his shoulder. Pidge tapped her ear and her palm. She wasn't signing anything specific, but he got the gist nonetheless. He took his hearing aids out and placed them in her open palm. She would make them better. Or maybe pair it with some Altean technology. As long as he could hear again, though, he didn't care.

He was just glad that it would all be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Drabble 2-Iverson was Wrong**

 **Shiro**

Shiro had always had a good temperament, unless he was on the verge of snapping, which was almost never. But there were a couple of noteworthy occasions where he had.

For instance, when he had first gotten into the Garisson.

His mother couldn't have been more proud of him, and he was so excited to start the next chapter in his life with his exciting new career path and his new best friend, Matt.

That is, until he met Iverson.

He was more than just a cranky old man. He was just downright _mean._ Meant to everybody for no good reason. Always putting people down, making kids cry, thinking that the excuse of wanting them to do better would fix all of the psychological traumas that he's caused on the young students. When he became an administrator it had only gotten worse for him.

On numerous occasions Iverson would talk down to him, tell him it wouldn't last. One time he even told Shiro the only thing he was good for was flying. Other than that there weren't really any remarkable traits about him.

Shiro has a gut feeling that was the reason Iverson had nominated him and his best friend for the Kerberos mission. He wanted to get rid of Shiro, at least for a little while.

One thing Shiro knew about himself was that he could take a lot. Iverson had shit on him time and time again. But when he started shitting on the other cadets, well. Long story short, Shiro had been known for his temper after that.

He used to think Iverson was right because he was young and naive and Iverson was someone who demanded respect even if he never gave it out. He had been, for lack of a better word, depressed. The stress and constant torment from his instructor weighed down on him like the weight of this godforsaken war he found himself in.

But he was a leader in that war. He was the _leader of Voltron._ He did that. It had been an accident, sure, but he knows for a fact that he's been doing a pretty great job. So as Shiro lay in his bed that night, lost in his thoughts, he couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face.

 _Iverson was wrong._

 **Keith**

Keith had always sort of had a temper, so when Iverson got onto him for dumb shit, Keith didn't hold back. It had gotten him thrown in detention on numerous occasions, and was actually one of the main factors in him getting kicked out.

He had been pushed around by the older man. Had been called a temperamental brat. Keith remembered the day he got kicked out like it was just a few vargas ago.

He had just finished his exam, and had been on his way to his dorm when Iverson had stopped him. He doesn't remember what he did to get him so angry, but he remembered the stinging words Iverson had spat at him.

 _It's no wonder your parents didn't want you!_

After that, he didn't really have a chance. He hadn't hesitated when he rammed his fist straight into Iverson's nose. No, he only saw red and only heard the blood in his ears. If it hadn't been for another student, Keith would have kept going.

He had been expelled immediately after, thus prompting his stay in the desert. Alone.

Iverson had told him he would always be alone if he wasn't able to get his temper in check. He didn't know why he was so angry all the time. He didn't want to be. But he had no idea where it was stemming from, or how to handle it.

But punching Iverson had felt nice. And it was nice to know that his team would never leave him. Not even Lance, and especially not Shiro. He had a family here. He wasn't going to be alone. Not anymore.

 _Iverson was wrong._

 **Hunk**

Hunk hadn't particularly liked the Garisson. Sure, it was nice and all, and meeting Lance and Pidge was probably one of the greatest things to ever happen to him, but he had hated Iverson. And he hadn't ever hated anyone before that. But once Iverson broke the barrier, it seemed to be all he could do.

He hated Iverson. He hated Zarkon and the Galra. He hated this war. He hated the fact that he couldn't use earth food. He hated that he couldn't go home after a big battle. He hated being away from his mom dad. He used to love space, but now he looked at it with resentment.

Just like Iverson had looked at him.

When Iverson looked at Hunk the only thing he had ever seen with this fat, sick teenager who was easily spooked. The only thing god about him was the fact that he was good with his hands.

Hunk hadn't really thought much of it at first. He knew the man must have been busy or stressed out to the point where he was going to snap. But then he did it to the kids touring, and to the newest recruits who were fresh from the comfort of their homes. After that, Hunk concluded that it wasn't stress. It was just his personality.

He would insult Hunk in the middle of the class, calling him weak or obese (not that there was anything really wrong with that). Except he knew he wasn't weak and he knew that his fat made him strong. Iverson was just to blind to see what good of a person Hunk was, how useful he could be. Iverson had called him useless and had repeatedly fat shamed him. But now he was one of the legs of freakin' _Voltron._ He wanted to laugh in his old commander's face and rub it in.

 _Iverson was wrong._

 **Pidge**

She had never liked Iverson. Not even when Matt had gone there. Her beloved brother had told her stories of how cruel the man was to him, Shiro, cadets. Pretty much everybody under the sun.

And then he refused to give her the truth. He refused to give her answers about her family. It had all been a government cover-up and he had been a major part of it. So no, she didn't like him. In fact, she was pretty sure she hated him.

He would push her around, yell at her more. Because she was small that meant she was weak, and if you were weak you shouldn't belong in the Garisson.

Iverson hadn't particularly liked either Pidge or Katie, and she was fine with that. But it was the fact that he would constantly put her down despite her proving to him that she knew what she was doing and could do it better than most of her piers, and he kept putting other students down for stuff they had no control over. Like Hunk and his weight, or her for her glasses. He shouldn't be allowed to be around kids. Ever. Period, end of discussion.

He always told her she would be washed up with the hotheaded Keith, but look at her now. She would like to rub it in his face that she was one of the pilots of the greatest robot in the whole freaking universe. And if she was never able to do that than at least she could imagine her bayard going through his kneecaps. That always seemed to bring a smile to her face.

As she typed away on her computer she smiled to herself, pushing up her glasses with a smirk.

 _Iverson was wrong._

 **Lance**

Lance had never been able to take criticism well. With him it all depended on the delivery. His team understood this. They would say hey, instead of this, try this, it might help. They weren't constantly yelling at him for screwing up like Iverson always had.

Iverson. That was a can of worms he had accidentally opened, and now he couldn't close it.

He thought back to all of the times Iverson had called him stupid, or told him he should just go back to Cuba. He was a wannabe who was dreaming for stuff that would never come true. It was no wonder why his family sent him to the Garisson.

Lance had believed him for the longest time. He would cry himself to sleep, or cry into Hunk, who had learned to keep an extra box of tissues around for the harder days. He would always say Iverson was dumb, but Lance thought that he knew, deep down it was all true.

He had made it into fighter class because Keith had dropped out. He crashed almost every single one of his simulators. He managed to get on everyone's nerves without even trying. Most people saw him as a goofball, as an idiot waiting for a girl to come by so he could flirt with them.

It was his coping mechanism, but the only person who knew that was Hunk. Hunk always understood how Lance's brain worked, and he was thankful for that with every passing day.

But he couldn't brush those kinds of things off as easily as everybody else could. Iverson had got into his head, and it still effected him, months later. He struggled with his self worth because of Iverson. He struggled with his 'thing' because of Iverson. Well, Lance would like to show Iverson a piece of his mind. He would shoot him in both his kneecaps and prove that he _could_ do anything and everything Iverson said he was to dumb to do. He had gotten into the Garisson for a reason. He was many things, but _stupid_ was definitely not one of them. Lance would like to stand in front of Iverson with Blue sitting proudly behind him, to show Iverson how dumb he was. He was almost giddy with his next thought:

 _Iverson was wrong._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Originally for Hunk's birthday

 **Drabble 3-Yellow Icing**

Hunk loved parties. More specifically birthday parties. However, unlike most, he didn't really care whether or not he got a party or not. No, he was much more worried about everybody else having the best birthday of their lives. He went all out with the cooking and presents. Even for Allura and Coran. He wanted the others to know that even though they were in the middle of a raging space war, they could still have fun, too. However, he was so focused with making sure the universe was safe and his friends happy that he forgot his own special day.

He hadn't really thought much of it throughout the day. Half the time he didn't even know what day it was due to the constant battles and stress. He hadn't wasted any time waking up and starting breakfast. It had become a vital part of his daily routine, because routines were nice and were probably one of the only things keeping him sane at the moment.

Every morning, just like clockwork, the others slowly filed in, one by one. Lance was the second to last, and today he seemed a little more aware of his surrounding than normal, but Hunk chalked it up to him having a decent day and a heckin good nights sleep. As the others made small talk, Hunk let himself get lost in thought as he cooked, whistling a fun, jumpy tune as he worked.

When he was done he whirled around with big plates of food on his arms as he walked over to the table, passing out a plate for each person. But Hunk noticed the atmosphere change. It was subtle, and if it hadn't been for the fact that Lance was making a conscious effort to be quiet he would have never noticed. He gave his best friend a questioning look, and Lance gave him an odd smile in return.

"Hey, Hunk," Pidge said, looking up at him. "Do you want to help me with my Galra tracking program? I'm adding a few modifications to it, and I think your input could be vital to our success."

"Yeah, sure, Pidge, that sounds good," Hunk replied. He was curious as to why Pidge would need his help with something so Pidge-like, but he wasn't going to question it. If Pidge was asking for help, it was probably for something overly important then.

"Yeah, and maybe when you're done we could train together or something," Keith said, trying to act nonchalant as he twirled his knife around on the table. Now _that_ is strange. Unless Allura commanded it, they never really trained together. They did fine, sure, and they were good friends of course, but would have thought he would want to train with Shiro, or hell, even Lance.

"Uh, okay. Yeah," Hunk said, more than a little confused.

"I was going to do it, but Keith needs practice against more than just me," Shiro told him, giving him a warm smile. "If he gets practice with other people he'll be better in the field."

"Oh, okay," Hunk said. That made sense. That didn't make it not weird, but it made sense. "We can do that."

Hours later, Hunk was both mentally and physically tired. He had spent all day with Pidge and Keith, helping them with what they needed. He thought it was a very productive day, and felt satisfied with the work they had gotten done. He was content when he opened the door to his room, and he was content when he took off his gear. But that contentness was shortlived when he saw the yellow envelope on his pillow. He raised an eyebrow as he picked it up and opened it.

 _Dear Hunk,_

 _As soon as possible, would you please report to the dining area. It is of great importance that you be here._

 _Thank you,_

 _Princess Allura_

Hunk blinked once. Twice. A fourth time, and he had finally processed the note. He quickly put his helmet back on and rushed to the dining area, his thoughts going a millions miles a second. Was the goo machine malfunctioning? Did Pidge get stuck in the cabinet again? If so then why leave a letter? Why not just ask him-or any paladin for that matter-to get their ass to the dining area. Also, when did Allura learn the English Alphabet?

He was out of breathe by the time he got there. The room was dark as he cautiously stepped forward. He released his bayard and took one deep breath before flipping the lights on. He was blinded for a second, and terrified the next as everyone on the castle yelled at him.

"Surprise!"

Hunk blinked as he looked around the room. It was decked out in yellow streamers, a giant yellow sign that said happy birthday in big, shiny letters, and three giant floppy cakes decked out in yellow icing. Hunk didn't even know you could get yellow icing in space.

"W...Guys?" Was all he could get out. He smiled, having completely forgotten about his own birthday as the others cheered. He felt the tears, but couldn't stop them as Lance literally threw himself into his arms and hugged him. The others quickly followed, all giving him birthday cheers.

"Lance, you remembered?" Hunk asked, once Shiro mentioned it was Lance's idea, and that he had been planning it for months. Lance shrugged and gave him a proud smile.

"Like I could ever forget my best buddy's birthday. Give me some credit man!"

Hunk laughed, and Lance playfully punched his arm, and Shiro came by, covered in flour, and ruffled his hair.

"Happy birthday, Hunk!" Coran and Allura said in unison. Hunk briefly wondered how long it had taken them to practice that before finally getting it right. They handed him one of the cakes, and he couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"Thanks, guys."


	4. Chapter 4

**Drabble 4-Comfort**

Lance felt an uncomfortable warmness inside of him as he trudged back to his room. That feeling of embarrassment from crying in front of the team...It didn't sit well with him. He was the goofball. He was the happy-go-lucky sharpshooter that flirted with everybody. He was the one that made everyone happy, that was his job! But with him getting carried away, talking about his family like that, well, he's pretty sure he got fired from his nonexistent job.

He had managed to pull himself together out there on the deck, surrounded by his friends-his family. His new family. Pidge's family. He was happy for her, really he was. But that didn't stop the knot of jealousy in the pit of his stomach as he watched her interact with her brother and father. He would kill to see his mom and siblings again.

Now that he was in his room, the tightness in his chest became unbearable. His emotions overtook his thoughts as heartache seeped into his being, wrapping him up like a cold blanket. He didn't bother holding back the tears he had been fighting back for _so long._ He just let himself go. He cried over his family back on earth. His cousins, his dog, his cousin's dog. Keith, too, because despite all their fighting it was all in good fun.

Loss was what he was crying for. He's lost his family. He's lost one of his best friends. He lost his hero. Or, maybe Shiro was never really interested in teaching him in the first place. Sometimes it was really hard to tell.

On top of all of that it was battle after battle, mission after mission, just nonstop. Lance was more than just a little tired. He was physically and emotionally exhausted. He just wanted to go to sleep, and maybe if he was lucky he wouldn't wake up.

A knocking at his door knocked him out of his thoughts, and he all too suddenly felt ashamed. Ashamed for crying and being so weak. Ashamed for not being able to be as strong as the others. He was sure Hunk and Shiro missed their families just as much as he missed his. There was no need for him to be a big baby about it. Right?

"Lance?" Someone said through the door. Was that...Was that Sam Holt?

Lance quickly wiped his tears away and stood up. He straightened out his jacket the best he could, and made sure his hair wasn't a complete mess before he let Sam in. He stood there, tired and prematurely graying, but despite everything that's happened to him he was giving Lance a warm, kindhearted smile.

"Hey, Sam, what's up?" He asked, trying his best to sound like he hadn't just been crying. He probably looked like he had been though, despite his minimal effort. He gave Sam a smile, though, because that's what he does. That's what he's always sort of done. Even back on Earth, he would give Hunk a smile after he got yelled at by Iverson.

But Sam was different. He had two kids, and could probably read them better than a science magazine. So in other words, he saw right through Lance and his smile.

"Can I come in?" He asked. Lance nodded and moved out of the way, letting the older man through. Sam didn't bother looking around the room. No, he was much more occupied with the person who lived in it.

"Is everything okay, Lance?" He asked as soon as the door shut. Lance just stared at him, unable to form the proper words. He wanted to say yes, but his heart told him no. Everything was most certainly not okay.

Sam seemed to understand Lance's internal struggle, because then he opened up his arms. Lance didn't register what had happened next until the tears came back, and Sam's strong arms wrapped around him comfortingly and protectively. He held Lance as he cried some more, rubbing his back and humming something quiet. Something that, even if they were back on the bridge, only Lance would be able to hear it. It was for him and him only, and somehow that made it both better and worse.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes before letting go. Lance sniffled and apologized for ruining Sam's clothes with his tears and snot, but Sam just waved it off.

"It's not like it can't be washed," he said. Lance could only nod. He let out a tired sigh and sat on his bed. Sam, without prompt, sat next to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked.

"You know what?" Lance asked, thinking for a moment. "You're going back to Earth, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," Sam replied.

"Do you think you could do me a favor then? My family needs to know that I'm...I'm okay."

"I think I might be able to help with that," Sam smiled. Lance chuckled and leaned back a little, letting his tense muscles relax.

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Tumblr prompt: _Can you write a fic where Keith comes back to Voltron and figures out Shiro's a clone after seeing him be really mean to Lance? (please include Keith defending Lance and confronting Shiro, thanks)_

 **Drabble 5-Not My Shiro**

Keith being back in the castle was probably the best thing that's happened to Lance ever since Keith had initially left. There's been nobody to train with or play video games with. Nobody to argue with and not really mean it in the end. Nobody to be partners in crime with. But now that Keith, and by extension Krolia, have left the Blade, they've become a vital part of Voltron.

Sure, Keith wasn't piloting a lion, but that didn't stop him from going on missions with them. If they were infiltrating something, Keith and Lance rode in Red together and got the job done. It was a lot easier with another person who had experience infiltrating. It felt nice knowing someone had his back.

That being said, it was also devastating when Lance talked to Shiro. Even with Keith back he was cold, dismissive, and always shooting Lance's plans and suggestions down. He had become a better strategist, and knew he was useful to Voltron in that way, but when Shiro decided to be a bit of a dictator rather than a leader, it was scary. Keith hadn't been around enough to see it, but the others had seen Lance take the brunt of Shiro's rants plenty of times now. But if Keith ever was in the room while that was happening, Lance was sure he would take Shiro's side. After all, they were practically brothers.

"Shiro, that's not going to work," Lance said steadily. He wasn't looking at Shiro, but he wasn't cowering away, either. His eyes were fixed on the plan in front of them. They were going to ambush a Galra fleet, but they didn't have nearly enough power or people to pull of Shiro's plan properly. No, they needed to use stealth and send in small groups at a time, taking it down from the inside out rather than the outside in. It should have been a simple, easy fix.

But Shiro...Well, Shiro was _not_ having it with Lance today, apparently.

"Lance, stay out of this!" He yelled, effectively silencing the entire room. "You're not even that smart, anyway! What makes you think your plan is going to work? When have your plans _ever_ worked?"

Lance starred at Shiro, mouth agape at the harsh words that had been thrown in his direction. He closed his mouth and took a deep breath before opening it again to say something, but his vocal chords but be broken because he couldn't get any sort of sound to come out. After a moment, he turned his head and closed his mouth; a surrender to the argument. He didn't have the energy to fight with Shiro again. Not today.

"Shiro," Keith spoke up. He was starring intensely at the older man, his purple eyes colder than steel. "Lance is right. Hear him out."

Lance blinked up at Keith, hoping that he could somehow tell him thank you without having to actually speak.

"Keith, you stay out of this too. We're doing it this way," he gestured to the screen, and then crossed his arms. "End of discussion."

Keith narrowed his eyes, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly. He took a step towards Shiro, still gathering his thoughts. Then, after a moment, his eyes widened with a sort of realization, and he pulled his Galra knife out.

"Keith," Shiro said sternly, "Put down your weapon."

"Where's the real Shiro?" Keith asked.

"What are you talking about, Keith? I am the real Shiro." Shiro looked at Keith like he had just kicked his puppy. He looked confused and hurt, but after a moment he masked it up with anger. That seemed to do the trick for Keith. He had no doubt in his mind, now, that that wasn't his Shiro.

"Guys, that isn't Shiro," Keith spoke firmly. Everyone was already on edge, and for Keith to spout those kinds of accusations, well, it didn't sit well with any of them.

"How do you know?" Allura asked, getting ready to break up the fight.

"He's not Shiro," Keith said. "Haven't you guys noticed? He's meaner, colder. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives. He yelled at Lance and basically called him an idiot. This _isn't_ Shiro."

Just as he finished his speech, Shiro grabbed his head in pain, trying to shake it away. He stumbled for a moment, squeezing his eyes and breathing through it. Keith quickly pulled Lance away from Shiro, who had been standing to close to him throughout this entire conversation in Keith's opinion.

Shiro straightened up, his mouth turned down in a snarl. When he opened his eyes again, they were glowing yellow.

"Very perceptive, Paladin," Shiro said. His voice didn't sound like his, though. Sure, it was his, but it had another voice layered over it as his mouth turned up into a feral grin. He chuckled, and his arm started glowing as he slowly walked towards the other paladins.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?"


End file.
